Frequently asked questions about syncing music to the cloud

Overview

Find answers to commonly asked questions about syncing music to the cloud through these channels:

Windows 8.1

Windows RT 8.1

Windows Phone 8

Notes

You can listen to your music from any of your Windows 8 or Windows RT devices.

With an Xbox Music Pass, you can also listen to your music through music.xbox.com, Windows Phone 8 and iOS or Android devices.

You can download and sync to a maximum of four different devices that have the Xbox Music app. (The devices can include computers or tablets running Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 and Windows Phone 8 devices.)

Q: How do I sync from the Music app to the cloud?

Note To sync your music to the cloud, you need an Xbox Music Pass.

The Music app automatically scans your music collection and matches the information to the Xbox Music Catalogue stored in the cloud. If a match is made, that music is tagged and available for streaming to Windows Phone 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1. If you have an Xbox Music Pass, you can also stream to Windows Phone 8, Android and iOS devoices from music.xbox.com.

To enable cloud sync:

Start the Xbox Music app in Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1.

Swipe from the right or go to the upper-right or lower-right corner to open the Charms bar.

Tap or click Settings, and then tap or click Preferences.

Make sure that Xbox Music Cloud is set to “On”.

Q: How do I stream my music from the cloud to someone else’s device running Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1?

To listen to your music from the cloud on a Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 device that is not your own, you must first create a Windows user account on that device. Once you are signed in to that account, you can access your music like you would from your own computer.

To do this:

From the Start screen on the computer or device, swipe from the right or put your cursor in the lower-right corner of the screen, and then select the Settings charm.

Select Change PC settings.

Select Users.

Under Other users, select the account that you want to use, or select Add a user and enter the email address and password for the Microsoft account that you want to use.

Log off and then log on as the new user.

Q: What do the icons mean?

Each icon has a specific meaning:

This song is available for you in the cloud, and you can play it when the device is offline. These songs are also available on any Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 device on which you are signed in. If you have an Xbox Music Pass, you can also play this content offline on your Windows Phone 8.

This icon indicates that streaming is available for the item, and you can see and play the content from any Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 device.

Note If you don’t have a current Xbox Music Pass, you may hear occasional ads when playing your content.

This icon means that the content hasn’t been fully-synced to the cloud yet, but that’s in process.

Q: How can I see just the music that's available across all my devices?

In Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, start the Music app and go to your collection. In the first drop-down box to the right of the Songs tile, select in the cloud.

Q: Why can't I add a particular album/song to my music in the cloud?

If you’re adding your own music and the album/song doesn’t match our information immediately, you can try searching by using the Don’t see the right album? link at the bottom of the “matching” screen. We're constantly working to expand the selection of Xbox Music in the cloud, but not all songs may be available for streaming in your region.

Q: A particular album/song didn't match correctly. How can I fix it?

If you ever notice a bad match for music that's already in your cloud, select it, swipe up the app bar (or right-click your screen) and click Match album info. This works the same way as adding music to your cloud the first time around.

Q: If I turn off music matching, do I lose my music in the cloud?

Music matching works on songs and albums as they're added to your PC or device, so if you've already matched your collection earlier, turning it off won't affect what's already in your cloud.

If you want to turn off the music cloud sync, swipe from the right or go to the upper-right or lower-right corner of your screen, tap or click Settings, and then tap or click Preferences. Then, set Cloud Collection to “Off”. That will prevent the device from being kept up-to-date with changes on other Xbox Music devices, but it won't affect your other devices.